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inform
issue 25
may 2013
TOGETHER IN ONE DIRECTION
Integration
A NEW HOME
Vodafone Campus
A LIFE
UNDERGROUND
Kat2
THE MAGAZINE OF STRABAG SE
Foreword
inform 25
FOREWORD
DEAR EMPLOYEES,
Hans Peter Haselsteiner,
CEO of STRABAG SE
Budget cuts among public-sector clients, but also serious mistakes on our part, have left their mark on our net income for 2012.
There’s nothing to gloss over here. What we can do, however, is to
take a closer look at the internal structures and organisational processes, build on our strengths, and close gaps in efficiency. In order
to handle this internal review in a structured manner, Fritz Oberlerchner
in mid-2012 assumed leadership of the STRABAG 2013ff task force
(page 28). I would like to point out that the goal is not to find a
scapegoat; the aim is to engage with you in personal talks so we can
establish a sense of trust and, working together, define our strengths
and weaknesses and identify opportunities and risks. The emphasis
here is on “together with trust”. The results presented by the task
force will be used to derive optimisation measures in line with our
group objectives. Let’s use the lull in construction to redefine and
build on our strengths!
are not always as respectful and polite as we would like to be. Let’s
take the time to again reflect on the meaning of these values.
“Together in one direction” is also the title of our cover story in
this issue (page 15). In the interest of increasing efficiency, we have
to make structural changes. Only if you have the courage to change
can you develop and grow; and only by growing and being flexible
enough to adapt to the fast-moving demands on the market can you
keep one step ahead of the competition. Our size is one of our greatest
advantages: it allows us a broad geographic and product-specific
diversification, which makes us more flexible than others. We can
build on this!
With this in mind,
For some people, organisational and structural change often
has a bitter taste to it. Uncertainty and a lack of knowledge about
the reasons behind a decision can obstruct our view of the future
and prevent us from recognising new opportunities. Looking at the
examples of our colleagues in the cover story, however, we see how
quickly uncertainties can disappear. Many doubts can be dispelled
by maintaining a steady flow of information and by treating each
other with respect. Unfortunately, the pressures of work mean we
02
In this issue’s career news section, we want to show how much
we value our colleagues on the construction site – where the real
work takes place. With hard work and perseverance, they achieve
great things. It is only thanks to their skill and know-how that we can
build structures such as the new Festival Theatre in Erl, the Vodafone
Campus in Düsseldorf or the LNG storage tanks in Brunei – just to
name a few outstanding examples.
Our construction site workers experience at close quarters and
on a daily basis what teamwork means and how important it is for
success. But the same applies to us all: No matter what’s in the
bucket, it only moves up when we all pull together!
Your Hans Peter Haselsteiner
www.strabag.com
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Contents
CONTENTS
NEWS
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
OPEN HOUSE Zentrale Technik
PROUD AWARD-WINNER FM Company of the Year 2012
NEW IN THE TRAINING CATALOGUE Ethics /Compliance
RIDING THE GREEN WAVE Green meetings and events
NEW LIFE IN OLD CLOTHES External communications
STRABAG: BUILDING ON US Employer branding
EMPLOYEES AS POTENTIAL Continuing education
5 QUESTIONS FOR... Interview
BACK TO THE ROOTS Career news
COVER STORY
15 TOGETHER IN ONE DIRECTION Integration
PEOPLE AT STRABAG
23 BORN TO BE WILD STRABAG employees in the spotlight
Strabag units
28
29
30
31
MAINTAINING VALUES THROUGH CHANGE Task force
Lightweight, but heavy-duty! Insulation specialist
Road safety initiative Driver training
FIND AND BE FOUND Search engine optimisation
PROJECTS
32
34
35
36
38
39
40
42
A NEW HOME Vodafone Campus
PRE-WAR MODERNITY IN THE HIGH-TECH ERA Rezydencje Pałacowa
HOMAGE TO OUR KNOW-HOW Citybanan
A NEW HOME FOR THE MUSIC Erl Festival Theatre
Faster through the Czech Republic D3 motorway
All aboard! The train is moving out! Tárnok-Székesfehérvár railway line
A LIFE UNDERGROUND KAT2
BUILDING IN THE SULTANATE DYWIDAG LNG Technology
SPECIALS
44
46
46
47
VIENNA: MY CITY The favourite places of STRABAG employees
ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET, ROW! Dragon boat races
STRABAG EVENTS SCHEDULE 2013 Highlights
YOUR OPINION MATTERS Survey
03
News
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News
Zentrale Technik
OPEN HOUSE
In mid-January, Zentrale Technik opened its doors for
its first Open House. It was a chance to take a look
behind the scenes and catch a glimpse into the exciting
world of technical services provided by our Central
Technical Division.
Austria. On 22 January 2013, the organisational units of Zentrale
Technik at the Donau City office in Vienna for the first time gave
colleagues from other departments the opportunity to dive into their
world and learn more about what they do. At its Open House, our
Central Technical Division presented and explained its processes
and procedures and gave interested persons a chance to take a tour
of the “heart” of the Donau City site – the technical facilities. During
construction of the building in 2003, geothermal energy had been
selected as the technology of choice. The technology makes use of
a heat pump and a network of geothermal pipes laid into the bored
piles: a fluid circulates between the subsoil and the technical facilities
in order to store heat removed from the building in the subsoil during
the summer and to bring the geothermal energy out of the ground
back into the building during the winter. At the time, the project gave
STRABAG a revolutionary position in this innovative sector in Europe.
In line with our strategy of knowledge management, whose aim
it is to exchange internal know-how among colleagues, the people
at Zentrale Technik presented their activities.
Info + +
Optimisation with STRAsco
The following departments opened their doors during the Zentrale
Technik Open House:
Process Planning
Architecture
Arriba / iTWO Group
Façade Engineering
5D Planning
Structural Engineering
Turnkey Construction
M&E Engineering
Geotechnical Engineering and Tunnelling
STRAsco Group
Mario Rabitsch, technical sub-division manager at Zentrale
Technik, sums it up: “The large number of visitors and their interest
lets us conclude that, as the saying goes: talking brings people
together. Through the personal exchange, our ZT employees were
able to convey their know-how to the colleagues from the other
departments.” The visitor numbers at the successful event are an
indication that employees respond positively to the opportunity to
look another division over the shoulder. Maybe the next time we can
look over yours?
CONTACT: Petra Burger,
Service Companies, Central Technical Division,
Sub-Division Central Technical Department Vienna
At the turn of the year, Zentrale Technik accomplished the
integration of the STRAsco Group. The STRAsco Group
uses mathematical optimisation procedures and simulations
for the end-to-end investigation of material flows to provide
the operating units with an essential decision-making foundation for supply chain optimisation.
Detailed information about the individual departments is
available in STRANET or in the informational brochures from
Zentrale Technik and STRAsco.
A look behind the scenes
04
www.strabag.com
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News
News
FM COMPANY OF THE YEAR 2012
In brief + +
PROUD AWARD-WINNER
Niagara Tunnel project successfully completed
On 31 January 2013, STRABAG PFS Zrt. received the first
FM Company of the Year award at the most important
awards ceremony on the Hungarian real estate market.
An award that was accepted with pride.
After more than seven years of construction, the Niagara
Tunnel Project was completed in March 2013 – several
months before the contractual deadline. STRABAG employed
the world’s largest tunnel boring machine (TBM) during work
on the € 900 million project. The construction contract for
the water supply tunnel had been awarded to STRABAG in
the summer of 2005.
STRABAG Belgium opens new office in Brussels
Hungary. At the presentation of the award, the jury of experts
stressed that the transparency, the complexity of the services, the
achievements in terms of green building management /environmental
protection (BREEAM In-Use Certification) as well as the constant
growth and professional development played an important role in
the decision.
STRABAG Belgium moved into its new offices in Brussels in
January 2013 – and set a clear signal on the Belgian market.
The strong growth of the branch office had made the move
to a new location essential. The new site is an important
piece of advertising for STRABAG and also offers a comfortable working environment.
STRABAG PFS Zrt. is especially proud that the client satisfaction
survey, which was crucial for the final result (in addition to the audience vote and the self-evaluation form that had been sent to the
FM companies), confirms the realisation of the company’s highest
objectives: an outstanding level of customer focus and client satisfaction.
“We are very happy and proud that the expert jury chose us as
the winner over the other companies in the first year of the new
award,” László Vágó, managing director of STRABAG PFS Zrt., said
of the award.
The clients of the Hungarian STRABAG Property and Facility
Services include some of the largest publicly listed Hungarian companies, local and foreign property developers, as well as funds,
banks and public-sector institutions.
CONTACT: Gerhard Grafl /Gábor Landi, International +
Special Divisions, Group Division Services, STRABAG PFS
László Vágó: Happy and proud to accept the award.
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News
“We all want to live in a society of law-abiding citizens,” says Hans Peter
Haselsteiner.
ETHICS/COMPLIANCE
NEW IN THE TRAINING
CATALOGUE
Bribery and price-fixing are no trivial offences – infractions of this kind result in criminal prosecution. Preventive
training aims at reminding employees: “What does the
company want?” and “Where is the red line?”
International. Corporate social responsibility and compliance
with the company’s code of ethics are very important to STRABAG SE
CEO Hans Peter Haselsteiner: “We all want to live in a society of
law-abiding citizens, and we are prepared to take this responsibility
for ourselves.” STRABAG acts by introducing a new training programme as well as a new training method that is at once proactive
and informative.
In March 2011, our ethics organisation wrote up a request to the
management board for the introduction of ethics training across the
group. The aim is to increasingly sensitise employees to the subject –
for their own protection. Besides delineating the group’s “red line”,
the training is also intended to define and clarify the most important
ethics concepts. This gives employees a sense of security by
nipping uncertainties regarding business etiquette in the bud. A
sophisticated compliance system or ethics programme is also a
competitive advantage during the acquisition of large international
projects. “The World Bank keeps a sharp eye on such compliance
measures before financing approval, and it is to be expected that the
matter of compliance will become an increasingly important one on
the national markets as well,” explains project manager Friederike
Landrichter.
Following approval by the management board in the autumn
of 2011, the project was launched in January 2012. A training
programme was developed in close cooperation with the BRVZ
06
Academy. For the management levels from business unit manager
upward (approx. 1,200 people), classroom-based training began in
September 2012 and will end in June 2013. But how to ensure endto-end training for 30,000 employees? For so many people, classic
classroom training would not be feasible without exceeding a reasonable budget. The decision therefore fell on computer-based
learning (e-learning). As no group-wide e-learning tool existed, an
appropriate tool was developed in cooperation between BRVZ IT
GmbH and the BRVZ Academy and implemented in our system:
truly pioneering work!
EVERYONE GETS A TRAINING INVITATION
The training is mandatory for all current and new employees in
the group. To avoid overloading the system, the training will be rolled
out in steps following a schedule in which participants are invited
one division at a time. The roll-out will start with Austria and
Germany. Every participant will receive an invitation link by e-mail.
The training is then completed via this link. You do not have to
enrol yourself. A record is kept of the date on which you complete
the training. Every three years you will automatically receive an invitation for a refresher course, completion of which is also mandatory.
In the fourth quarter of 2012, a pilot phase was carried out with
three operating sub-divisions and one IT unit. Following completion
of their training, participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire.
Landrichter summarises: “For the vast majority of respondents, it
was their first experience with e-learning. Still, more than 90 % said
the content of the training was clear and easy to understand.”
CONTACT: Friederike Landrichter, Service Companies,
Central Staff Division Contract Management
CONTACT: Silvia Kreuzwieser, Service Companies, Central
Division BRVZ, AT/International, Human Resource Development
www.strabag.com
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News
News
GREEN MEETINGS AND EVENTS
RIDING THE GREEN WAVE
Sustainability is a buzzword we hear on an almost daily
basis. On the STRABAG CSR website, you can learn more
about STRABAG’s actions to help protect the environment.
Here you can read what you can do to help.
Setting a good example: STRAcafé at the Vienna headquarters
International. What makes “green meetings” and “green
events” different is that they follow principles of environmental
responsibility and sustainability. Enormous opportunities exist to
make a contribution to a more efficient use of resources. No matter
in which country you are or which division you work for, each and
every one of us can do their part to protect the environment.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AT A GLANCE
DO A GOOD DEED AND TALK ABOUT IT
With just a few minor changes, you too can organise sustainable
meetings and events and, with some simple actions, make an enormous impact:
By talking about green events, and through word of mouth, we
can inform even more of our colleagues about these meaningful
measures. After all, having less waste to clean up after a meeting or
event is not only good for the environment; it is also good for you as
event organiser.
When serving food and drinks such as sweet and salty snacks or tea, coffee and juices, make sure that these are organic, fair trade
and, if possible, locally and seasonally produced
Serve tap water in jugs instead of bottled mineral water
When purchasing drinks, try to buy returnable bottles
Buy bulk packages instead of single-portion packs (e.g. sugar
cubes instead of individual sugar packets)
When distributing flyers or invitations, use paper sparingly (print
on both sides) and print on environmentally friendly paper
Place recycling bins in easy-to-see locations
Do not use throw-away plates, knives and forks
Praise the benefits of arriving by public transportation, by bicycle,
on foot or by carpooling
Use environmentally friendly promotional gifts and decoration
(natural products, fair trade products or products which can be
reused or recycled)
Avoid producing waste in general
CONTACT: Paula Rys,
Service Companies, Corporate Communications
Info + +
Links
http://csr.strabag.com/
More information on this topic is available at:
www.umweltberatung.at/veranstaltungsservice
www.oekoevent.at
www.biokueche.at
www.umweltzeichen.at
www.oeko-gastlichkeit.wien.at
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News
EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
NEW LIFE IN OLD CLOTHES
After seven years, it’s time for new corporate images.
Based on the existing design, but using our own projects.
The new images are available now in STRANET.
International. STRABAG SE designed its first corporate images
when it went public in 2007. True to the saying that “a picture is
worth more than a thousand words”, corporate images stand for
a company’s philosophy, its products, its core expertise and its
employees.
In the past five years, these images have become established
within the group and are used nearly everywhere: in reporting and
advertising, at trade fairs and even as canvas prints. The success
and the brand recognition speak for themselves. More than once,
however, we received requests to use our own projects in the corporate images. Finally, they’re here! Based on the design of the old
corporate images, we created new images using our own projects.
The new images are available for general use and can be downloaded at STRANET >> Konzern >> Konzernkommunikation >>
Bilder >> Sujetbilder.
IMPORTANT!
We did not renew the rights of use for the old images, which
subsequently expired on 1 March 2013. To avoid copyright violations,
we ask that you only use our own images from now on. If you are
unsure about anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.
CONTACT: Barbara Amon,
Service Companies, Corporate Communications
Info + +
Have you already seen our new company video?
Check it out on our website www.strabag.com. CDs with
selected foreign language versions are available from
Corporate Communications.
08
www.strabag.com
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News
News
Employer Branding
STRABAG: BUILDING ON US
To recruit and retain the best employees, STRABAG is
refocusing its employer brand. Our new keywords are:
“variety”, “opportunity” and “everywhere”.
International. Employer branding is that part of the corporate
strategy which aims at presenting a company as an attractive
employer that stands out above the rest. The objective of employer
branding is to recruit the best applicants on the market. Another
point is to increase the motivation and identification with STRABAG
among existing employees.
selected at random and asked to tell us what they associate with
these three words.
With this in mind, a new project called “Employer branding –
Our people are building Europe” was launched in March 2012. As
a first step, blue-collar and white-collar employees were randomly
asked to give their opinion about STRABAG by filling out a questionnaire or by taking part in a group discussion. How employees see
STRABAG as an employer is quite different in the various European
markets – conditional upon the respective business activities,
company structure and competitive situation. This means that there
is still some work to do if we want to strengthen our perception as
“Europe’s most attractive construction company”.
“My work has taken me not only to Germany, but also to Austria
and the Netherlands.”
A more offensive strategy is called for: let’s emphasise the
uniqueness of STRABAG as an employer! Our Corporate Communications and Human Resource Development therefore asked themselves what the opinions of the employees in the different countries
have in common. The concepts were compressed and condensed,
as if they were being poured through a funnel. In the end, it was
agreed that STRABAG stands for these three concepts: variety,
opportunity, everywhere. Our employees were now called upon to
breathe life into these attributes. Once again, respondents were
“The job assignments are varied and diverse.”
“Everyone contributes their share to completing a project.”
“An international working environment and presence –
we can be found almost everywhere.”
“Throughout my work for the company, I have always received a lot
of assistance and support – especially during my career move from
construction worker to site foreman.”
The three keywords will now be used to develop new communication tools to bring the message across, e.g. with a career
website, a career brochure and advertisements.
CONTACT: Diana Klein,
Service Companies, Corporate Communications
CONTACT: Katharina Weissenbacher,
Service Companies, Central Division BRVZ,
Human Resource Development – Human Resource Marketing
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News
CONTINUING EDUCATION
EMPLOYEES AS POTENTIAL
As early as the 6th century BC, the Chinese philosopher
Laozi recognised the importance of constant learning:
“Learning is like rowing upstream. To stop is to fall
back.” STRABAG Russia has gone one step further by
developing an employee training programme together
with experts in the field.
Russia. Surviving on the market depends on a number of
factors, but one of the most important – if not the most basic – is a
highly qualified workforce. The demands on today’s employees have
changed. STRABAG Russia recognised this trend two years ago and
set the course appropriately. Besides giving itself the goal to recruit
qualified people for the company, STRABAG Russia is also focusing
on employee training. The result was the establishment of a human
resource development concept based on the structures at a Russian
construction college. Several construction colleges exist in Russia.
For the sake of simplicity, these are numbered and receive the
abbreviation “Sk”. STRABAG Russia signed an agreement with
Construction College No. 12 (Sk12) to use one of its larger classrooms for company training. To give the employees an attractive
setting in which to learn, STRABAG decided to personally renovate
the classroom. “Painted in the STRABAG design and fitted with
state-of-the-art equipment, the STRABAG training centre now is the
highlight of Sk12 and a fantastic advertisement for our company,”
says Jürgen Raschendorfer, the deputy division manager.
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The first training programme for foremen took place in October
2011, although the training centre itself was not opened until the
beginning of 2012.
With its qualified trainers, modern facilities, and state-of-the-art
materials and technical equipment, Sk12 is one of the best training
centres in Moscow. “Training to become skilled workers and foremen,
factory and site supervisors all takes place under the same roof,”
says Raschendorfer as he explains the concept.
The focus of the training programme is defined by STRABAG
employees in cooperation with specialists from Sk12. The content is
comprised of elements from the different areas of construction work:
formwork, scaffolding, construction and concrete engineering, structural analysis, and more. German, Austrian and European experience
and educational models played an important role in the design of the
teaching programme. A first textbook, “Site supervisors in building
construction”, has also already been published.
Currently there are plans for a first training programme for site
supervisors, the highest level of training for our skilled workers. This
is an opportunity for 25 participants to consolidate their knowledge
in the fields of project management, leadership, construction, construction contract law, reporting, and occupational health and safety.
“The goal of the training is not only to impart theoretical knowledge
to the participants, but also to train manual skills,” explains
Raschendorfer, who sees a good education as a prerequisite for
improving the on-site construction process. Expert knowledge is
guaranteed with a final exam and certificate.
CONTACT: Jürgen Raschendorfer, South + East, Group Division
RANC (Russia & Neighbouring Countries), Sub-Division NN
www.strabag.com
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News
News
INTERVIEW
5 QUESTIONS FOR...
Effective with the beginning of the year, Christian Harder
was appointed to the management board as CFO. At the
same time, he will remain managing director of BRVZ.
“With Christian Harder, STRABAG SE can count on an
extremely capable and competent financial expert as
CFO. He has spent his entire professional career within
the group and knows our company in detail,” says Hans
Peter Haselsteiner.
Christian Harder, our new CFO at STRABAG SE
After 19 years in the group, what connects you to the company?
Above all, it is the trust from and in the people who I have been able
to work with that connects me to the group.
What was the greatest challenge for you?
The permanent challenge is to adapt the organisation as much as
possible to the rapidly changing framework. In addition to growth
spurts and the group’s regional expansion, changes in the environment
have also had far-reaching effects.
With the new position, do you also plan to move to Vienna?
I have no plans to move to Vienna. The focus of my work, in part
because of my additional function as head of the group division
BRVZ, will remain in Spittal / Drau. But of course, there will be
increased stays in Vienna.
Profile of Christian Harder
BORN
19 August 1968
STUDIED
Applied Business Administration at the
University of Klagenfurt with a focus on
Controlling and Tax Management
1994
Joined the Bauholding Group
The tasks of a CFO are wide-ranging. Can you tell us the most
important points?
One reason for the creation of the CFO position was the requirement
of the “four-eyes principle” at the management board level. The CFO
supports the segment managers in commercial matters and is
responsible for managing the group’s finances. Within the STRABAG
Group, the BRVZ organisation – which is assigned to the CFO –
plays an important role in this regard.
1996
BRVZ Director of Accounting
Time to call it a day! How do you switch off?
I enjoy being able to spend time with my family.
2008
Managing Director of BRVZ
1998
BRVZ Head of Financial Accounting
2002
BRVZ Central Division Manager
Since 2013
Member of the Management Board
of STRABAG SE
MOTTO FOR LIFE
“Honesty is the best policy”
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News
Career
MY OFFICE IS A SHIPPING CONTAINER
CAREER NEWS
HARD HAT AND
SAFETY GLASSES
BACK TO THE ROOTS
Our colleagues on the construction site are the foundation
of the group. They put our projects and planning into
action – in all kinds of weather and under all sorts of
working conditions. inform introduces you to five colleagues
as representatives of our approximately 45,715 bluecollar workers around the world.
Siena Schneider, construction manager at STRABAG
Germany. Siena Schneider (30) finished her
studies in civil engineering in 2007 and started
her professional career as a technical trainee in
process planning at the Rhine-Main-Neckar unit
of STRABAG AG’s Rhineland-Palatinate / Hesse
sub-division. During her trainee period, she spent
three months in Libya learning first-hand what it
is like to work on a construction site abroad while
gathering useful practical experience. After completing her trainee programme, she worked in
process planning before switching to construction management at the end of 2008. Here she
managed the construction activities related to
the civil engineering and road works for a new
factory building of Joseph Vögele AG in Ludwigshafen. Following her maternity leave in 2012,
she was back in construction management and
is currently working on the project “Schiersteiner
Kreuz BW9a+9b”.
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www.strabag.com
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career
News
News
“Even if the tasks on the
construction sites are similar – no
site is like the other!”
“For me, the Gotthard Base
Tunnel project-of-the-century is
our most beautiful project.”
Csaba Tüskevári (36) has been a machine operator with the
group since 1997. In his job, he operates a construction machine to
drill anchorage points into the ground. His skills have already been
required at a number of construction sites. These include the underground car parks at Szabadság Square, Corvin Center and Köztársaság Square as well as the railway underpass projects in Karcag
and Kápolnásnyék. Currently Csaba is busy installing the sheet
piling at a construction site in Ócsa. What he finds especially exciting about his job is that he is constantly needed at new construction
sites. No site is like the other and every one is a challenge in itself.
Dietmar Thaler (40), a native of Carinthia in Austria, lives and
works in Switzerland. He originally trained as a carpenter before
learning to become a blaster. These days, Dietmar is working as a
foreman on the Gotthard Base Tunnel construction site. Besides the
daily challenges, he appreciates the close working relationship with
his colleagues on the site; after all, you have to be able to rely on
them when working underground. But for Dietmar, the construction
site was not only the start of things professionally; it also influenced
his private life: this is where he met and fell in love with his wife
Veronika. His motto: Once a tunnel, always a tunnel.
“What I find very interesting
about my job is the variety of
tasks at the different construction projects.”
“For me, every new construction site is an exciting task.”
Miloslav Kadlec (60) joined the group in 1994 as a driver and
excavator operator. He has been involved in most of the important
STRABAG construction projects in the Czech Republic such as the
Korunni Dvůr residential complex in Prague, the Palladium shopping
centre in Prague, the Bauhaus store in České Budějovice, the Galerie
Butovice shopping centre in Prague or the Gemini office building in
Prague. Miloslav can list a large number of construction sites in his
CV. He operates a wide range of machines on the construction site,
including track and wheel machines, loaders and unloaders as well as
cranes. His colleagues think highly of his commitment to his work and
his readiness to help others.
Wolfgang Ferner (52) has worked as a crane operator in building
construction since 1988. A lot has changed in his job over the last
25 years. Alone the technology of the cranes has evolved enormously. Working at dizzying heights is not for everyone – but for Wolfgang, it’s a thrill every time. It would be no exaggeration to say that
he has the best overview of the project. In the crane, he has to pay
close attention to his colleagues on the ground – and it is no easy
task to navigate at such heights, especially when the wind really
starts blowing. His favourite projects are those involving the modernisation of historic buildings such as the Schubertturm in Vienna.
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Cover Story
Integration
TOGETHER
IN ONE DIREcTION
Almost all of us have faced changes at work at some
point in our lives – have had to deal with extensive
restructuring or new team formations. All change initially raises questions and uncertainties: What will
happen to us? Why change something that was working
fine? While it is true that every change also harbours
some risk, we should first focus on the opportunities
that could arise for us. The point must be to find these
opportunities and to take advantage of them.
International. A quick look back at 2009: On 27 May 2009,
STRABAG took over Center Communication Systems – Center
Systems for short – from EFKON AG. Reasons for the acquisition
included Center System’s rapid growth and increased international
cooperation as well as strategic aspects. The decision made it
possible to pursue the new expansion strategy in Europe even more
intensely.
Three years later, in April 2012, the management decided it
would make more economic sense for the company to use the full
range of group services.
The process to integrate about 180 employees began. Also
affected by this change were two IT systems administrators. Gudrun
Kammerhofer-Sebl was faced with the “transfer to BRVZ IT GmbH”.
At first it was a shock! What lay ahead? What was expected of her?
What would the new team be like? What would her responsibilities
be? Lots of questions and no answers...
A story like many others – but one that is only seldom told.
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Cover Story
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The news initially cut the ground from under her feet. And just
a short time later, Kammerhofer-Sebl had a first meeting to get to
know her new potential boss. Gudrun Kammerhofer-Sebl is an open
and positive person and so, despite her uncertainties, she was optimistic about the meeting. Unfortunately, she had to learn straight
away that it was not possible to offer her a position similar to the one
she had occupied for 13 years at Center Systems. But thought had
been given to finding the best way of using her skill and expertise.
A thoroughly interesting alternative was discussed.
She was not deterred by the fact that her tasks and responsibilities were about to change completely. On the contrary: after
13 years, Kammerhofer-Sebl immediately recognised the opportunity
to pursue a new direction in her professional career. Her only
concern was more of a personal nature: How will my new co-workers
react to me?
Gudrun KammerhoferSebl: New opportunities in a new team
Until that point, she had been a “two-(wo)man show” with just
one other colleague. In the future, she would have to support and
enlarge a tight-knit nine-person team. It was a time of mixed feelings: joy, but also uncertainty. Which is quite understandable – we
all know the feeling of being the newcomer in a group.
“GAVE ME A GOOD FEELING”
To be on the safe side, Kammerhofer-Sebl was invited to attend
the team meetings – despite the fact that she wouldn’t be “official” until
1 January 2013. This gave her the possibility to get to know her new
colleagues and to get a first look at her new area of responsibility.
Profile
AGE 37 years
EDUCATION B.I.T. Graz
IT BUSINESS 13 years
LOVES her Maine Coon cats
IN HER FREE TIME family and friends
HOBBIES films and books
MOTTO FOR LIFE Nothing happens without a reason
16
One of her new co-workers was designated her “buddy”,
someone to count on for support and with whom an
intense exchange – especially at the beginning – was
supposed to take place. In practice, however, all of
her new colleagues endeavoured to help. And
there was no such thing as a stupid question.
Several times during our interview, Kammerhofer-Sebl tells us: “It was a good
feeling to be in such good hands.” Her
new colleagues came up to her and
asked her how she was doing. “They gave
me a good feeling, looked after me and
helped integrate me into the team.” Even if it may
at first glance appear that Kammerhofer-Sebl took a
step back in her career – in terms of responsibility and
decision-making freedom –, she doesn’t see it like that at
all. “I have benefited all along the line: a new team; new and
complex tasks with clearly defined responsibilities; contact to
new people; and education and training opportunities.”
Her conclusion: “People have been more than accommodating
to me and they gave me the feeling from the beginning: ‘We want
you on the team!’”
dually
www.strabag.com
A story like that of Gudrun Kammerhofer-Sebl is no exception
and many of us can identify with her feelings. Integrating and being
integrated is a part of daily life. In our private lives and at work, we
are constantly confronted with the issue – it just isn’t always
obvious. That’s what makes it so important to focus on the opportunities. Through insignificant, unconscious behaviours derived from
the organisational culture, we often integrate misunderstandings
and ill feelings without meaning to – but the remedy is actually quite
simple. Let’s be honest: We all have better things to do than worry
our heads about such trivial problems!
PERFECT EXAMPLES
Using STRABAG Residential Property Services as an example,
we can see how smooth and exemplary the process of rebranding
after an acquisition can be. The merger of all group brands in
Switzerland to form a single STRABAG brand is another example of
pioneering work in the group’s history.
SWITZERLAND GOES STRABAG
In the interest of the efficient use of synergies, the merger of all
Swiss brands as STRABAG was a logical consequence of the enterprise acquisitions of the past and of the completed and ongoing
integration of the Swiss companies. The single-brand strategy was
approved after much discussion and intense consideration. On the
side, under the title “With combined forces”, you will find five
motives for the merger and the opportunities that it offers us.
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Cover Story
UNIFORM IDENTITY
WITH COMBINED
FORCES
1 The merger strengthens employee identification and their sense of having a common
purpose.
2 Attention is focused on the STRABAG brand
to combine the marketing forces for a uniform
corporate identity. We no longer want our construction sites to be cluttered by many different
logos; instead, we want to give a clear and consistent image. The general public, clients, suppliers, competitors, government agencies and business partners now have just one brand as their
“contact”. This simplifies the communications
and benefits the company’s attractiveness as
an employer on the Swiss job market.
3 The use of synergies is aimed at achieving
medium- to long-term cost savings.
4 Perception as a Swiss company: only if we do
business under a single name will people see
STRABAG as a Swiss construction company and
as a Swiss employer.
5 A uniform identity gives us a marketing advantage. Our objective: to be regionally anchored and
to act locally.
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Collect
A press release from 18 September 2012 announced the acquisition by STRABAG of Berlin-based real estate manager BWG /GSW
Betreuungsgesellschaft für Wohnungs- und Gewerbebau mbH. Following an extensive rebranding, BWG will do business as STRABAG
Residential Property Services GmbH. Besides the planning of a
completely new corporate image under a new brand with a new web
presence, it was also important for STRABAG to include the employees in the process. An event was organised already at the beginning
of September 2012 to communicate the upcoming changes. But
how did the employees themselves feel about the acquisition and
integration? inform asked around:
Michèle Fiebach
Property Administration
Ivo Rathfux
Director Organisation and Projects
18
The sale of BWG to the STRABAG Group began
with a friendly welcome event that I found to be very
pleasant and positive. With the words “We are pleased
to be able to take over BWG and we look forward to
learning from each other”, plus a symbolic handing
over of the keys, we became part of a leading,
globally active real estate service provider. It is a
strategic acquisition that will be exciting for all
involved. I look forward to the upcoming developments and am convinced that we will continue to be
a dependable partner for our clients.
I was initially surprised by the enormous and
profound interest that the STRABAG PFS employees
handling the integration had in such a relatively small
business as RPS. In retrospect, this is how I was
able to recognise their experience with integration
processes. What made me very happy was the completely professional behaviour of all involved.
ollectively
www.strabag.com
Looking back on the last six months after the
announcement of STRABAG’s takeover of BWG,
the integration actually went relatively quickly and
smoothly – especially considering STRABAG’s corporate size. This is certainly due in part to the good
position, the existing structures and the exceptional
level of commitment on the part of the employees of
the former BWG. After all, BWG is one of the top
players for property administration and property
management in Berlin. In this respect, the integration
can be seen as a real benefit for both sides. I have
especially great hopes regarding the technological
developments that have taken place to date and that
will take place in the future. Of course, there were
some initial difficulties, especially concerning the
change of the company’s name and the company
records. But thanks to some hard work and a sense
of humour, they were of no further consequence.
The negotiations over a new wage agreement for the
employees of the rebranded STRABAG Residential
Property Services GmbH represent the
next big and highly anticipated step
in the integration process. We all hope
that this does not put a damper on
the overall positive process to date.
When we first heard that BWG was going to be
taken over by STRABAG, I had an uncomfortable
feeling: I didn’t know what was coming my way,
especially as I wasn’t aware that STRABAG was also
active in property administration. When the transfer
began, it went off almost without notice, without any
of the radical changes and work slowdowns that had
been feared. The usual processes kept on going as
normal. In the meantime, I am glad to
be working for STRABAG. Working for
a globally successful company, I see
my job as more secure and I look
forward to more challenges ahead.
inform 25
Cover Story
Bitja de Nève
Property Management
Erika Lück
Property Accounting
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Cover Story
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Barbara Waldhauser,
lecturer at the FH bfi
Vienna University of
Applied Science
homogeneo
EXPERT INTERVIEW
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF AN
ENORMOUS OPPORTUNITY!
Words like merger or rebranding often have a slightly negative
connotation. But what possible opportunities could arise from
the company’s point of view?
Viewed neutrally, a merger is the combination of two or more companies to form a single legal entity. A merger can be by absorption,
in which the acquiring company maintains its name and legal identity with no rebranding; or by formation of a new company, in which
both the acquiring and the acquired company give up their name
and legal identity and jointly do business under a new name and a
new identity – one could say that they make a new start together.
The advantages of a merger include possible synergies – e.g. in the
form of greater market power vis-à-vis clients and /or suppliers or in
the form of cost advantages. Advantages can also arise through the
expansion of the product portfolio. In a merger of a supplier with one
of its purchasers, the expansion of vertical integration can also be
seen as an advantage. The list could go on and on, but I would like
to focus more on the advantages of rebranding. Rebranding means
giving the brand a new name. That is an enormous challenge for a
company because the existing brand has achieved a certain level of
recognition – ideally, after all, a company name stands for something: reliability, durability, etc. At the same time, however, rebranding
is also an enormous opportunity!
Business environments are constantly changing and companies
need to keep up with these changes. Imagine a company whose
name (and its brand) is well-established and which for years has
stood for tradition and dependability. Now imagine that this company
has recently focused more intensely on innovation and would like
to market a whole range of fantastic new products and processes. What a dilemma! Due to the strong brand, people
may not recognise the company’s high innovative strength.
A well-planned and well-timed rebranding can give the
company the opportunity to successfully communicate a new focus. Things are similar in a merger:
the company has to face the challenge that it
can no longer use the existing brand image;
at the same time, however, a new image
and a new brand can be created. And
I believe that this also is an enormous
opportunity for how the company is perceived from within. All employees – those in the
acquired as well as in the acquiring company – are
making a new start together.
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inform 25
www.strabag.com
How can employees benefit from this?
A difficult question – above all, if you don’t want to paint a too rosecoloured picture! But despite the stress and uncertainty that a
merger can cause, employees can in fact benefit from such a business
combination. This does not happen automatically, however; it
requires lots of effort on the part of the employees and of the
company. The opportunities surely include – provided the company
can take advantage of the potential benefits – that the company will
be in a more stable financial position, something that is certainly an
advantage for the employees, too. Employees can also benefit if the
company, when harmonising the processes of the previously separate entities, takes advantage of opportunities for simplification and
improvement. But as I mentioned before, the employees themselves
must also seize their own opportunities. Internal restructuring can
create new and more interesting responsibilities. Of course, such
opportunities do not simply fall in your lap – you also need to have
a certain amount of self-motivation.
What should managers take into consideration during a merger
or integration?
The essentials are clear: timely and complete information! It should
be clear that missing information is replaced by rumours – in that
case, chaos and uncertainty are unavoidable! Managers must be
able to answer their employees’ questions. There needs to be a clear
line of communication from the company management. Communication that flows in both directions – managers must communicate
the most important information at any given stage of the merger, and
they must keep an open ear: What are the latest rumours? What are
the fears of the staff? What about individual fears? Supervisors are
often at a loss to deal with individual fears – in these cases, some
companies offer their employees the chance of external counselling
and support under an employee assistance programme.
Cover Story
What advantages can different business cultures have for a
company?
Business cultures determine the values and views within a company
and significantly influence the internal processes and ways of
working. Accordingly, many procedures are never questioned.
When, in the process of a business combination, different cultures
meet, it becomes necessary to question the existing processes and
procedures. This, too, is an opportunity as well as a challenge! It is
an opportunity because new ways of looking at things could arise,
because existing procedures may be adapted, etc. But it is also a
challenge because we are often unaware of the fact that many of the
things we take for granted do not represent the “objective” truth, but
rather the truth that is “anchored” in our respective culture. Stuck in
our worldview, it can be quite a shock to discover that the “others”
see things differently and that they are just as convinced that their
way of doing things is the only right way. In situations such as these,
it is important to remember that we are dealing with objective
matters. And that there is no clear “right” and “wrong”. If you resist
the temptation to “convert” others to your own “truth” and recognise
that there are other traditions and ways of looking at things, then
that is – as I mentioned before – a fantastic opportunity. In the long
term, it is important that respect for different ways of looking at
things can lead to a new, common understanding. In this way, it may
be possible to get the best out of both predecessor cultures. For the
good of the company and for the good of the employees!
Thank you for the interview!
How can employees best prepare for integration, be it a merger
or the transition into a new team?
Although it is difficult and may even sound cliché: the most important
thing is to be open and self-motivated. Self-motivation includes
seizing the initiative if the company fails to deliver all the information
you would like to have: How will things be? Will I stay in the same
department? Will my responsibilities change? Will I have new colleagues? Who will be my team leader? What will happen with my
remaining holiday leave? Which of my benefits will remain? If the
team and/or responsibilities do in fact change, employees need to
be open and willing to work in a new environment. You should contribute actively to shaping your work environment! If you take the
wait-and-see approach, you will have to live with the consequences.
21
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People at STRABAG
STRABAG EMPLOYEES IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Born to be wild
Get your motor runnin’ – Head out on the highway –
Looking for adventure – In whatever comes our way …
Many of us can sing along to these famous lyrics by
Canadian-American rock group Steppenwolf. Especially
the bikers among us!
International. Roaring engines, fast machines and cool bikers.
This is how many people imagine the typical motorcyclist. Alone on
a Harley, with a sidecar or in a group – there are many different ways
of living this hobby, as can be seen by looking at the enormous
selection of makes and models that are out there. For many of our
STRABAG colleagues, motorcycle riding is their favourite pastime.
But our employees have more to offer than just windswept hair
and cool motorcycle gear. In 2010, Michael Prudlik, Dirk Wons and
Ingo Krause founded STRAbike, the first international motorcycle
rally for bikers from the STRABAG Group. STRAbike will meet for the
fourth time this year, this time in Neuenhagen near Berlin.
We received a lot of responses to our call for contributions and
the selection was enormous. So we decided to focus on four colleagues as representative of all bikers in the group. On the next two
double-page spreads, we hope to carry you away to a world of
chrome, engines and the feeling of freedom.
From left to right: Wolfgang Esser, Monika Greiderer, Markus Fußer,
Gerhard Grafl
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People at STRABAG
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Gerhard Grafl
POSITION: Director Sales International STRABAG PFS
COUNTRY: Austria
In life, they say, you have to start small. Small in this case means
a Sportster. Insiders will know what we’re talking about: the sportiest
model produced by cult U.S. motorcycle brand Harley Davidson. For
someone the size of Gerhard Grafl (1.94 m), that’s a rather daring
undertaking. But the feeling of being alive when sitting on and riding
one is a dream for him. And it has been since he was 17.
The typical features about this bike are the same things that make it
so attractive for him: lots of chrome, a loud sound, the V-twin
engine – and cruising through the country in leather gear and boots.
Gerhard Grafl always meets kindred spirits when he is on the road.
Unique about Harleys are the anniversary editions sold every five
years featuring custom paint and unique styling. The limited production run makes these bikes interesting but difficult to get a hold of.
“I nevertheless succeeded in getting one and so I’ve replaced the
little bike with a big one for cruising in style: the Ultra Classic Electra
Glide,” says Gerhard Grafl. This year, he will take his new Harley to
Bike Week at Faak am See in Austria, where it will join 70,000 other
bikes on show.
24
Cruising with his Harley – heaven on earth for Gerhard Grafl.
idson
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MODEL: H
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Ultra
lt racer
TYPE: Cu
www.strabag.com
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People at STRABAG
Wolfgang Esser
Position: Project Manager STRABAG Offshore Wind
Country: Germany
Wolfgang Esser got his enthusiasm for motorcycling from his big
sister. When he was young, he would secretly borrow her 250 cc
Honda for a joy ride every now and then. Since then, he has owned
a total of nine motorcycles from Japanese and American manufacturers and has racked up a total mileage of more than 80,000 km.
He discovered his love for motorcycles with sidecars in 1996 while
working for Züblin on the Xiaolangdi Dam construction site in China.
There he noticed a vehicle from the People’s Liberation Army: it was
the indirect successor of the BMW R 71, a derivative of which was
first built in Russia and then, starting in the 1950s, in China as the
Chang Jiang 750. After some bureaucratic hurdles, it didn’t take
long to get hold of one and soon he was enjoying gorgeous rides in
the provinces of Henan and Jiangsu, but also spent many nights
tightening loose bolts. When the 50-year-old civil engineer came
back to Germany in the year 2000, he went through different channels to get the same model – although in a German road legal
version. On sunny days, Wolfgang Esser loves to go on short rides
around Stuttgart or to the nearby Black Forest to enjoy the countryside in his own way.
For longer trips with his wife and daughter, Wolfgang Esser prefers his
1956 “Gangster Citroën” 11CV. But that’s a whole other story.
g 750
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TYPE: Th
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with fam
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People at STRABAG
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Monika Greiderer
Position: Assistant to the Management, Bavaria, BMTI
Country: Germany
“She’s got some nerve!” – This is how many neighbours described
Monika Greiderer. The native of Tyrol was the first woman in the
district of Kitzbühel to get her motorcycle licence.
The farmer’s daughter learned how to ride at the tender age of
twelve when she used her father’s old Puch to tend to the cows that
were out to pasture. With her various motorcycles, Monika Greiderer
has already travelled around 400,000 km throughout all of Europe.
So it was only natural that, after coming to Munich in 1979 and
meeting even more motorcycle riding women, she founded Munich’s
first women’s motorcyclist club, which currently counts 42 members.
As a tradition, she organises a women’s run at the start and at the
end of the season, as well as a ski weekend back home. Monika
Greiderer also founded the Southern German Women’s Motorcycle
Rally, which will take place in Altmühltal for the 20th time this year.
Monika Greiderer can’t imagine a holiday without her motorcycle.
On the road, when she arrives at her day’s destination, she enjoys the
rather odd custom of toasting with the so-called “beer boot”.
Monika Greiderer is especially pleased that her boss and several
colleagues are also avid motorcycle riders. This greatly boosts the
team spirit: on the road or on the job, you’ve always got to be able
to rely on the others.
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TYPE
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People at STRABAG
Markus Fußer
Position: Technical Services – Cost Estimation Turnkey Construction
Country: Germany
The passion for motorcycles got a hold of Markus Fußer when he
was still in school. After graduating, he took off for a 3,500 km tour
clear across Europe on a Kawasaki GPZ 500S.
While at university, he stumbled upon a picture from the 1950s of
his grandfather on a rare 1951 DKW RT 200. It was the beginning
of a lifelong passion. Two years later, after some intense research,
Markus Fußer got his hands on the same model – a real fixer-upper
that he spent three years rebuilding himself with painstaking attention
to detail. But his grandfather’s joy the first time he got the engine
roaring was worth the effort. That was the day Markus Fußer caught
the vintage bug: “A little while later I couldn’t resist buying a 1939
DKW NZ 250. The attraction lies in understanding the historic engineering, bringing it back to life and experiencing it. Perseverance is
the most important prerequisite – it can take years to find the right
missing parts.” Learning the necessary manual skill is as much a
part of his hobby as organising reproductions and networking with
other vintage freaks.
Markus Fußer has been restoring historic motorcycles since 1994.
And the next project is sure to come...
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KW NZ 2
MODEL: D
rloose
Gyro Gea
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T
:
E
P
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er scene
of the bik
Mountain climbers – We’re looking for you!
You scale the highest peaks, defy the most adverse weather
conditions and accomplish amazing feats of endurance and
strength. Climbing and mountaineering are enjoying an
increasing popularity. We’re looking for STRABAG’s best
summiteers. Are you one of them? Then we look forward to
hearing from you: STRABAG SE, Corporate Communications,
inform@strabag.com (submission deadline: 30 June 2013).
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STRABAG Units
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Task Force
MAINTAINING VALUES
THROUGH CHANGE
In line with this statement by German political scientist
Richard Löwenthal (1908-1991), STRABAG is focused on
creating new momentum. In our last issue of inform, we
introduced you to Fritz Oberlerchner, the director of the
STRABAG 2013ff task force. But what exactly are the goals
of this task force? inform met with Manfred Rosenauer
to find out more about the project.
What were the underlying motives for launching the task force
project?
The impetus came from Dr. Haselsteiner. In line with the principle of
“maintaining values through change”, we want to “diagnose”
strengths and possible weaknesses within the group. On the basis
of these results, we will either receive confirmation of the current
processes and existing structures or we will have to consider possible
changes.
What will be the task force’s core responsibilities?
The individual group entities are to be analysed in terms of their
internal and external services, structural organisation, allocation of
responsibilities, regional synergies, (brand) structure in terms of
company law, organisational culture and individual matters of location.
How will this analysis be carried out?
In personal and structured one-on-ones with management representatives at the individual business locations, we want to work
together to identify strengths/weaknesses and opportunities/threats
(SWOT analysis) for the group. In order to provide as complete a
picture as possible of the situation, it is important for us to have
additional colleagues visit all offices as well as a representative
number of construction sites. This will provide us with information
about life on the frontlines of the individual organisational entities.
From left to right: Manuel Engelsthal, Manfred Rosenauer, Matthias
Loimayr, Fritz Oberlerchner
Which topics are under discussion?
We are focusing on six areas: organisational structure and human
resources; business locations; business activity; market information;
client needs and structure; and cooperation within the group. But we
also want to assess our “punch” on the market by reviewing our
multi-industry group brands and our service operations.
What objectives are you pursuing with the task force?
The results of the SWOT analysis will be used to systematically build
on the group’s strengths and improve the cooperation within the
group. This will guarantee our long-term success, secure our competitiveness and consolidate our market position. We will be able to
close internal communication and information gaps, thus improving
our ability to work together effectively and productively. But it will be
up to management to pursue any objectives that are derived from
the insights we gain. Switzerland was the first country to be subjected to task force evaluation. So what happened with the results?
Our results and assessments are a snapshot documentation and
depiction of recognisable organisational patterns – these are presented to the management board. Based on the latest available
information, complemented by the insights gained from the task
force’s work, the management board will arrange for possible measures and define any further action to be taken in order to better
achieve the business objectives. We have no influence on this
process. We deliver the diagnosis and results; the development of
measures to implement our findings is the responsibility of the
management board.
Productive talks require mutual trust. How can you create this
sort of relationship?
We want to build up trust through personal talks without taboos,
constraints or dogmas. The main point for us is to find good reference models for the group. We want to work together to analyse the
current status: What is going well? What could be going better? And
what will this require? The emphasis is on the word “together”: We
want to work together to explore our strengths and opportunities,
but of course we must also critically assess the weaknesses and
risks as well.
Thank you for the interview!
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www.strabag.com
inform 25
STRABAG Units
INSULATION SPECIALIST
Lightweight,
but heavy-duty!
Small in size, big on innovation. Having its own patented
lightweight concrete gives Prottelith a well-established
presence on the market. Meanwhile, Austria’s business
chamber WKÖ and accident insurance institution AUVA have
recognised the company’s years of commitment to workplace safety with the Golden Securitas award: apparently,
the Prottelith Installation Block was convincing enough.
Austria. STRABAG has held a 52 % interest in Prottelith
Produktionsgesellschaft m.b.H. since 2002. Founded in 1983, Protellith was initially specialised in the production of façade elements.
In the meantime, this company of just 19 employees has grown to
become a specialist for innovative insulation systems. From its
headquarters in Carinthia, Austria, Prottellith covers the European
market with its products.
WE PRODUCE FOR THE FUTURE
From left to right: AUVA Chairwoman Renate Römer,
Gilbert Dreschl, WKÖ President Christoph Leitl
The use of recycled EPS (expanded polystyrene) packaging
has a positive impact on the life cycle assessment of Prottelith’s
products. Old packaging from the electronics industry ends up in
the company’s products. The use of recycled EPS in building insulation makes it possible to save more heating energy than could be
produced through its combustion.
WE PRODUCE FOR SAFETY
Today’s workplace would be unimaginable without measures
for occupational health and safety. With the Golden Securitas award,
the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ) and the General
Accident Insurance Institution (AUVA) recognise companies that
serve as role models for workplace safety and occupational health.
Prottelith Produktionsgesellschaft m.b.H. was able to convince the
jury of the efficacy of its installation block, a product which has been
in use successfully for years, to receive the coveted award for the
year 2012.
CONTACT: Gilbert Dreschl,
International + Special Divisions, Group Division Construction
Materials, Sub-Division Insulation /Bituminous Trade (RA)
Prottelith’s lightweight concrete, made in a patented process
from cement-coated recycled EPS pellets, has already made a name
for itself in the construction sector. The development of this product
was based on the idea of using recycled EPS packaging to produce
an economical construction material of high technical quality.
THE PROTTELITH PRODUCT PORTFOLIO
Insulating panels
Lightweight walls and shaft walls
Installation block
Ceiling grid installation strips
Levelling and slope filling
Façade elements
Custom construction elements
More information is available at www.prottelith.at
For more safety: no more working over open shafts helps to avoid falls.
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STRABAG Units
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DRIVER TRAINING
Road safety initiative
The Sultanate of Oman, with approx. 3 million inhabitants
on about 310,000 km² of land (four times the size of
Austria) on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula, is one
of the least densely populated countries in the world – and
yet there are far too many traffic accidents every year.
Specialists were flown in from Germany’s ADAC Driver Safety Centre
in Embsen.
STRABAG Oman took the initiative.
Oman. “A car is not unlike a wild camel,” the Frankfurter
Allgemeine Zeitung once quoted Omani Suleiman Al Alawi as
saying. Tempted by the broad roads, Omanis generally drive too
fast, see traffic rules as mere “recommendations” and regard buckling up as overrated. In 2011, Oman registered 7,500 accidents with
1,044 fatalities – in a country that has only around 400,000 registered vehicles.
Time to take action! “To prevent accidents and damage to
equipment – true to the principle of ‘safety first’ – a concept was
developed by our group insurer NHA Hamburger AssekuranzAgentur GmbH together with GVD Versicherungsvermittlungen
Dienstleistungen GmbH to proactively and permanently eliminate
possible sources of danger for STRABAG Oman LLC,” says Roland
Scheuermeyer, managing director of GVD GmbH and the division
manager in charge. To help increase safety in the long term, a driver
training concept was developed which foresees the development of
in-house driver trainers to train their colleagues in small groups.
For more safety: our future driving instructors.
30
A difficult undertaking: Specialists were flown in from the
German ADAC Driver Training Centre in Embsen. The 120-page
training concept included: braking on a hill, in a curve, with a load,
and on gravel, as well as loading safety, evasive manoeuvres, the
blind spot and the correct assessment of a vehicle’s limitations. The
schedule for the theoretical and practical training was tight – the
ADAC trainers only had one week of time. And the training facilities –
slaloms, curves, chicanes – still had to be built. An interpreter for
German and Arabic was also needed.
“The trainers were well-prepared for the desert conditions and
shared their knowledge in a competent manner. We are convinced
that we have taken another big step in terms of construction site
safety,” says Roland Scheuermeyer, satisfied with the project’s
success.
CONTACT: Roland M. Scheuermeyer, Service Companies,
Central Division BRVZ, Insurance Department
Training on slalom, in curves and with chicanes
www.strabag.com
inform 25
STRABAG Units
Info + +
Still have questions?
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION
Would you like to learn more about search engine optimisation and our SEO guidelines, or do you have a question on
this subject? Our expert Roland Poppe will be glad to help.
FIND AND BE FOUND
Search engine optimisation (SEO) offers many chances
and opportunities – for STRABAG, too. The aim of
search engine optimisation is to rank websites higher
on a search engine’s results page.
International. A study conducted by the German television
broadcasters ARD and ZDF showed that 83 % of German Internet
users used search engines in 2011. If people need information or are
looking for a certain product, they simply “google” it.
The problem is that you often find several thousand or up to one
million hits for a search. Most people, however, click only on the first
ten results. The search engines deliver these results based on the
search terms or keywords. Every website is tagged with such keywords.
During the design of a website, it is important to define good
keywords. A good keyword is unique! Avoid using general terms or
internal abbreviations and expressions. Stand out above the crowd!
WHERE THERE IS LIGHT, THERE IS SHADOW
In the world of web design, there are few other fields in which
there is so much superficial knowledge and so many unserious providers as in the SEO scene. SEO service providers promise that they
can rank your site among the top 10 or even in the number one slot
of the search results.
Don’t be blinded by dubious offers and questionable providers.
If you come across unlikely promises, claims and guarantees, come
talk to us at Corporate Communications first!
CONTACT: Roland Poppe,
Service Companies, Corporate Communications
31
North + West
inform 25
Vodafone Campus
A NEW HOME
On 15 December 2012, the new Vodafone office buildings
were handed over to the mobile telecommunications
company on schedule. The building is the new workplace for 5,000 people – many of them in open offices
with a new layout concept.
Germany. 10 September 2010 was an eventful day for Vodafone D2 GmbH. The company had just signed the contract for the
construction of its new German headquarters. Some 28 months
later, the company’s approximately 5,000 employees, who had been
spread over eight different locations, would come together under
one roof at a former brewery in Düsseldorf-Heerdt.
The building complex – three office blocks plus a 19-storey
office tower – also includes a car park with more than 1,500 parking
spaces as well as a daycare centre for six groups. In total, the site
has a gross floor area of more than 110,000 m².
The design-and-build turnkey construction contract was awarded
to the consortium Vodafone Campus Düsseldorf consisting of
Ed. Züblin AG, Düsseldorf, and Zechbau GmbH with commercial
leadership provided by Züblin Düsseldorf. Ed. Züblin AG’s share
of the contract amounted to about € 95 million. The client was
“die developer” Projektentwicklung GmbH. The total volume of
investment for the entire construction project amounted to
approx. € 300 million – this sum also includes urban infrastructure
works.
The building ensemble: three office blocks and one office tower for
5,000 employees including garage and daycare.
The new office concept envisions that only about 75 % of all
employees will work at the office at all. More employees are to be
given the opportunity to work from home. Employees also won’t
have their own desks anymore – instead, they will be able to freely
choose a work station in their department. The emphasis is on
encouraging communication. The usual layout of arranging desks in
groups of four will be replaced by small furniture suites with sofas as
well as separate areas for more privacy.
GREEN COURTYARD FOR REST AND RELAXATION
A small park with 80 large trees up to 15 m tall and already
several years old was laid out in the inner courtyard of the Vodafone
Campus. The trees were grown at a nursery specifically for this
project. Tens of thousands of evergreen plants were also planted.
The aim is for employees to use the courtyard as a social gathering
place and for breaks. The Berkshire Garden, as the park is called, is
also meant to enhance the neighbourhood. It is open to the public.
“The on-time completion of the four architecturally very challenging buildings with ultramodern offices was officially celebrated
on 15 December 2012 with a symbolic handing over of the keys to
single tenant Vodafone,” says technical director Thomas Kemmerling,
proud of the project.
CONTACT: Thomas Kemmerling,
North + West, Group Division BC+CI Germany /BNL,
Sub-Division North Rhine-Westphalia (DQ)
32
www.strabag.com
inform 25
North + West
Contract value: € 236 million
Construction time: 28 months
Office tower height: 98 m
Campus usable area: 85,000 m²
The high-quality double insulated glazing with large exterior aluminium
louvre blades serves as protection against the sun and defines the
character of the building.
33
North + West
inform 25
Rezydencje Pałacowa
PRE-WAR MODERNITY
IN THE HIGH-TECH ERA
Wilanów is one of Warsaw’s most attractive outer
districts and one of the oldest settlements in the area.
Contract value: PLN 23 million (approx. € 5.5 million)
Construction time: 11.2011 – 1.2013
Average unit size: 234 m²
Number of residences: 24
A new high-tech housing complex was built here, in
the immediate vicinity of a natural preserve, the 18th
century Neoclassical Potocki Palace and the Royal
Castle.
Poland. Rezydencje Pałacowa (“Palace Residence”) – located
at an intersection between city and nature – features a contemporary style of architecture inspired by Warsaw’s modernist residences
from the 1930s as well as ideas by Le Corbusier. The concept envisions a light-flooded living space united with its environment though
enormous glazed surfaces, geometric shapes and a simple structure.
NON-STANDARDISED SOLUTIONS
The project comprises six ensembles, each consisting of four
separate homes for a total of 24 residential units with an average
usable area of 234 m² each. Each residence features two levels of
living space including the attic and comes with an underground car
park.
34
“A specific technique was required for the reinforced concrete
structure. The water-impermeable insulation of the outer walls was
achieved using the ‘white tub’ technique. The project emphasises
the minimalist aspect – the homes are designed to be functional with
no superfluous decoration or ornamentation to disturb the harmony,”
explains construction manager Piotr Stawiarz.
Rezydencje Pałacowa is Poland’s first estate to feature hightech home solutions. An Apple app makes it possible to remotely
control the facilities (audio-video and household appliances) as well
as the lighting, heating and irrigation system in the garden using an
iPhone or iPad. It is even possible to monitor the residence while
away – the home reacts autonomously to potential threats and
informs the resident of any disturbance. One look at the iPhone is
enough to know what’s going on at home.
The construction services comprise the buildings and the car
park as well as all interior and exterior works, relocation of a property in conflict with the project, transfer of the existing site development, demolition of the existing surfacing, recultivation of the land
set aside for greening, clearing and attainment of the legal permits
for use.
CONTACT: Piotr Stawiarz, North + West, Group Division
Poland, Sub-Division Building Construction PL (PP)
High-tech estate with 19,496 m² of space
Grandiose with simple design
www.strabag.com
inform 25
North + West
Citybanan
HOMAGE
TO OUR KNOW-HOW
Sweden is upgrading its infrastructure and is investing
about € 1.9 billion in the construction of an under-
Contract value STRABAG & Züblin: € 150 million
Construction time: 9 years
Completion: 2017
Length: 6 km
ground railway tunnel to help meet the growing volume
of traffic. Thanks to their know-how in the field of tunnelling, STRABAG and Züblin have taken a leading role.
The opening of the tunnel is scheduled for 2017
Sweden. Citybanan is Sweden’s largest construction project at
this time – not just in terms of size but also in terms of infrastructure.
It is the solution for Stockholm’s growing traffic volume. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on 24 January 2009 – inform reported
in detail in the 2009 October issue (inform 18).
In the meantime, STRABAG and Züblin have assumed a decisive
key role in this billion-euro project. After all, we were awarded nine
out of twelve construction lots. It is an homage to our expertise and
our know-how in the field of tunnelling.
Construction is taking place under a densely populated part of
the city which includes historically priceless buildings from the early
17th century. These are not your usual working conditions! Noise
must be kept at a minimum in order not to disturb the local residents, and special care must be taken to ensure that no damage
occurs to the historic buildings.
In 2008, Züblin Scandinavia AB and its joint venture partner E.
Pihl & Søn A.S. were awarded the design-and-build contract for the
submerged tunnel under the Söderström, an arm of Lake Mälaren,
with connections to the ongoing rock tunnels on each side of the
lake. The final breakthrough in the rock tunnel coming from the
A tunnel with two additional tracks
south into the excavation pit at Söder Mälarstrand took place in an
official ceremony on 12 January 2012.
The submerged tunnel under the Söderström is generally considered to be the most challenging part of Citybanan. The three concrete underwater tunnel elements will be submerged in the summer
of 2013 and handed over to the client Trafikverket in October 2014.
The construction works for the entire Citybanan cross-city rail link
will be finalised and the line will be opened to train traffic in 2017.
Nearly € 1.9 billion will be invested in the modernisation of the infrastructure. This project will help double the capacities to 550 trains
a day.
AWARD FOR A JOB WELL DONE
Safety on the construction site and safe working conditions on
the Citybanan project are a top priority. The Swedish transport
authority recognised this commitment in 2012 with an award for
“best working conditions”. The award is presented annually.
CONTACT: Patrick Marelius, North + West,
Group Division SWS, Sub-Division Tunnel & Infrastructure (NF)
Award for the “best working conditions” on a construction site
35
South + East
inform 25
ERL FESTIVAL THEATRE
A NEW HOME
FOR THE MUSIC
STRABAG has been an official partner of the Erl Festival
since 2004. For STRABAG, therefore, being in overall
charge of construction of the new theatre building was
an affair of the heart. The grand opening was celebrated
on 26 December 2012.
Austria. Construction began in October 2010: a new Erl Festival
Theatre was to be built next to the famous Passion Playhouse,
complete with its own car park and premiere house. The “Premierenhaus” – owned by the Haselsteiner Foundation – will be used exclusively for premiere events ahead of performances in the Festival
Theatre. The orchestra and choir academy, singers, directorial staff,
set designers, costume department, administration and maintenance
staff of the Tyrolean Festival Erl – all of them now have a common
new home. The Festival Theatre will serve as a second stage for the
Tyrolean Festival Erl in the summer, and will be the only venue for
Passion Plays and for the Erl Festival in the winter.
In perfect harmony: In the summer, the dark façade of the Festival Theatre
helps it blend into the dark background of the landscape. In the winter,
the white Passion Playhouse fades into the snow-covered surroundings.
WORLD’S BIGGEST ORCHESTRA PIT
The Festival Theatre, designed by Delugan Meissl Associated
Architects of Vienna, features 862 seats – 732 in the grandstands
and 130 movable seats near the orchestra pit – as well as the world’s
largest orchestra pit (160 m²). The total usable area amounts to
8,000 m² – the size of a football field.
ARCHITECTURAL CHAMELEON
The architecture of the Festival Theatre complements the Passion
Playhouse and the natural surroundings of Tyrol’s mountain landscape. In the summer, the dark Festival Theatre blends into the dark
forest background, leaving the stage to the white Passion Playhouse. In the winter, it’s the other way around: while the white
Passion Playhouse fades into the snow-covered surroundings, the
dark Festival Theatre stands out against the white landscape.
ON TIME AND ACCIDENT-FREE
Extensive preparations had to be taken before the actual construction on the project, carried out by STRABAG as general contractor, could begin: approximately 110,000 t, or 40,000 m³, of rock
were removed by blasting. A matter of special concern was the
36
preservation of the Blaue Quelle (Blue Spring) nature reserve –
a typical spring pool that has been protected since 1926, making
it the oldest natural monument in Tyrol.
The dynamic and highly motivated team of 24 STRABAG
employees completed the works in record time – on schedule,
according to plan and accident-free. “The challenge, the job and my
own personal commitment were enormous: almost always a sevenday week and around 230–240 hours of work a month. But it was
worth it! After 40 years at STRABAG, this was probably the biggest
and most impressive project of my career. The perfect final project
before retirement,” says project manager Georg Höger with a smile
as he describes the construction of the Festival Theatre.
Two cranes were available on the construction site with a reach
of about 60 m each and a capacity for loads of up to 2,500 kg at
www.strabag.com
inform 25
South + East
Contract value: € 36 million
Construction time: 18 months
Total usable area: 8,000 m²
Cubage: 62,000 m³
The Festival Hall opened on 26 December 2012.
An underground car park with around 430 parking spaces was built for
the concert guests.
their extreme end. For the roof, a mobile crane with a lifting capacity
of 400 t hoisted a total of eight reinforced concrete beams, measuring
about 25 m in length and weighing 40 t each, onto the 22 m high
walls. The beams served as the substruction for the roof, auditorium
and stage. The building shell was completed in September 2011.
CONTACT: Georg Höger,
South + East, Group Division Austria/Switzerland,
Sub-Division Salzburg/Tyrol/Vorarlberg (AX)
GRAND OPENING WITH MOZART
On 6 November 2012 – at the presentation of the summer
schedule for the coming Wagner anniversary year −, Hans Peter
Haselsteiner officially handed over the new Festival Theatre to festival founder and maestro Gustav Kuhn. The STRABAG CEO praised
the harmonious juxtaposition of the two buildings. The opening ceremony took place on 26 December 2012 under Gustav Kuhn’s artistic
direction with Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro.
37
South + East
inform 25
D3 MOTORWAY
Faster through
the Czech Republic
A STRABAG-led consortium is currently working on the
Czech Republic’s largest motorway project – the extension
of the D3 motorway in Southern Bohemia.
Czech Republic. The existing 17 km motorway around Tábor,
which STRABAG also helped to build, will be extended this summer
by a 25 km section to connect the cities of Tábor and Veselí nad
Lužnicí. STRABAG will build all aspects of an 8 km section as well
as the roadway on another 11 km section.
Contract value: € 369 million
Construction time: 10.2008 – 11.2013
Earthworks: 3,100,000 m³ of excavated soil
Road surface: 650,000 m²
In the future, it will be possible to travel from Prague all the way
to the Austrian border by motorway. “The start of construction did
not go without problems. As the right-of-way compensation had not
been paid in time, the client could only hand over the construction
in small sections. The extension by STRABAG of the D3 motorway
Asphalt works between Planá nad Lužnicí and Tábor
from Tábor to Veselí nad Lužnicí is divided into six separate lots,”
project manager Pavel Žákovský explains. These six lots also
include the construction of several bridges, one of which crosses
Koberný Pond, a breeding pond that is home to a duck farm. The
deck of Koberný Bridge, which has a total length of 557.5 m, was
built on a pile foundation.
ALMOST FINISHED
When the new section of motorway is opened – traffic is set to
flow in August 2013 and all construction works are to be completed
in November 2013 –, it will be a significant relief for the residents of
Planá nad Lužnicí, Soběslav, Veselí nad Lužnicí and Sezimovo Ústí
who live on the main road from Prague to České Budějovice. The
new motorway will give them more peace and quiet.
The motorway had to be equipped with temporary amphibian
fencing during construction. Permanent fencing was later installed
to keep wildlife from crossing the roadway. Several wildlife corridors
and animal bridges were built to allow animals to get from one side
to the other.
CONTACT: Pavel Žákovský,
South + East, Group Division Transportation Infrastructures
Czech Republic /Slovaloa, Sub-Division South (TD)
Soon to be completed: the D3 motorway
38
Prestressed concrete box girder bridge built using the cantilever method
www.strabag.com
inform 25
South + East
TÁRNOK-SZÉKESFEHÉRVÁR RAILWAY LINE
All aboard! The train is
moving out!
The Tárnok-Székesfehérvár railway line had been getting
on in years and was in urgent need of modernisation.
But the project turned out to be anything but easy.
Difficulty: no work possible during the summer
Hungary. The Tárnok-Székesfehérvár railway line, located in
central Hungary near the popular tourist destination of Lake Balaton,
was in serious need of repair. Because of its decrepit state, strict
safety precautions were in force on part of the line. On some sections, trains even had to cut their speed down to 20 km/h.
presented a considerable risk in the form of unpredictable weather
during these seasons.
Contract value: HUF 54.9 billion (approx. € 192 million)
Construction time: 45 months
Length: 45 km
Top speed: 160 km /h
To restore the railway to a useful state, it became necessary to
act. Hungarian company Szentesi Vasútépítö Kft. was commissioned to handle reconstruction of the line, the stations and the
buildings – its largest project to date. In addition to the reconstruction works, the project objectives also included a link-up to the international 30a rail corridor with an upgrade for axle loads of 225 kN
and speeds of 160 km/h.
The geographical location of the project also presented an
enormous challenge. The railway line passes through a protected
area on the south shore of Lake Velence, which required precautions
to be taken regarding the water table.
Various layers of earth with a total volume of more than 1 million m³
were used during construction of the embankment. The project also
required the demolition of 56 structures.
JUST IN TIME
Despite all difficulties, the dual-track railway line was upgraded
completely under live track conditions. The success speaks volumes
for the perfect just-in-time teamwork.
CONTACT: Viktor Drabant, South + East, Group Division Rail /
Transportation Infrastructures SOE, Sub-Division HU (HH)
WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS…
The project suffered a delay of six months during the tendering
phase and contract conclusion. The only way to make up for this
lost time was to drastically reduce the total track closure time during
which construction would be possible. Of course, the tight schedule
also had an impact on other areas of the project: new technologies
had to be developed, there was a higher human resource need,
unforeseen difficulties came up in the project organisation and there
was a significant cost overrun.
The work had originally been scheduled to begin in the autumn
of 2010, but unusually adverse weather conditions got in the way
and frustrated the plans.
As the works were taking place near the Balaton holiday destination, the tender documents stipulated that tracks could not be
closed and no work could take place at the stations during the
summer months for the entire four-year period of construction. The
construction works were thus limited to spring and autumn, which
Upgraded to a permissible axle load of 225 kN
39
International + Special Divisions
inform 25
KAT2
A LIFE UNDERGROUND
Lot 2 of the Koralm Tunnel construction project (KAT2) –
the core section of the planned Koralm railway line – is
slated for completion by early 2019. STRABAG’s tunnellers
have been working non-stop 24-hour shifts on the
project since January 2011.
Austria. The Koralm Tunnel represents an important section of
the Baltic-Adriatic axis of TEN Corridor No. 23 between Gdańsk,
Warsaw, Vienna and Bologna. The project forms part of a planned
new high-performance rail line with improved capacities for passenger and freight service. The base tunnel will pass through the
Koralpe range of mountains to link the area around Deutschlandsberg with the Lavanttal valley. Measuring 32.9 km in length, it is the
core section of the 130 km railway line as well as Austria’s longest
railway tunnel. On 28 October 2010, ÖBB Infrastruktur AG awarded
STRABAG’s IR sub-division the contract for the second and largest
lot (KAT2). With a value of € 570 million, it is the largest construction
contract ever awarded in Austria.
THE ASSIGNMENT
Upon completion, the tunnel will have two parallel, single-track
bores with an inner radius of 3.95 m and an average centre-to-centre spacing of 40 m. The two tunnel bores will be connected with
each other via 38 crosscuts spaced at 500 m intervals. In the event
of an incident in one of the tunnels, the crosscuts will serve as an
escape route to the second bore. Utility rooms for rail-related equipment can also be found here. An emergency station approximately
934 m in length is being built in the middle of the tunnel. Longitudinally, the tunnel has a cross slope with gradients of 5.44 and
3.00 ‰. The highest point is located near the state border between
Styria and Carinthia. The tunnel has a maximum depth of approx.
1,200 m.
THE GROUNDWORK
A lot of preparatory groundwork is required before a tunnel
boring machine (TBM) can begin operations. KAT2 makes use of
two such colossal machines, but before work began they had to be
assembled on site. Not a simple task if you consider that one TBM
weights around 2,000 t and is 180 m long. At the same time, the
conveyor belts to remove the debris had to be set up, and electricity
cables, water pipes and optical fibre had to be laid. In short, the
underground infrastructure needed to be installed.
40
New Austrian Tunnelling Method: the rock mass is broken up by blasting
or excavation and the tunnel surfaces are protected with shotcrete and
tunnel rings immediately after face advance.
“MAULI” BEGINS ITS WORK
On 29 January 2013, TBM “Mauli 1” officially began tunnel
operations with a start-up ceremony presided over by the tunnel
sponsor, Austrian First Lady Margit Fischer. Two months later, the
second “mole” began tunnelling operations in the north bore. The
TBM cutter head with a diameter of nearly 10 m is driven by twelve
4,800 kW motors. Bringing the TBM to the site required 45 heavy
load transports. The rotating cutter head is equipped with 80 disc
cutters.
Recycling is everything: the 8.5 million t of excavated material
will be used to produce approx. 1 million m³ of concrete for the
tunnel lining.
CONTACT: Manfred Köpf, International + Special Divisions,
Group Division Tunnelling, Sub-Division IR (Tunnelling)
www.strabag.com
inform 25
International + Special Divisions
Contract value: € 570 million
Construction time: 8 years
Length: 32.9 km
TBMs: 2,000 t in weight and 180 m in length
Manfred Köpf, KAT2 project manager
Interview
24 HOURS NON-STOP
What are the working conditions below ground?
Above ground, a tunnel construction site differs
only marginally from any another construction
site. Not so below ground: water ingress, high
temperatures and high humidity can push the
workers to their limits. Then there is the fact that
the men see no daylight during their shift and are
subjected to a certain safety risk.
Guests of honour at the start-up ceremony on 29 January 2013 (from
left to right): Hans Peter Haselsteiner; Franz Bauer, member of the
management board of ÖBB Infrastruktur AG; tunnel sponsor First
Lady Margit Fischer.
What does the time plan look like?
Construction began in January 2011 and is
scheduled for completion by early 2019. The
workers are pulling 24-hour shifts, including weekends and holiday. Only at Christmas and Easter
do we give ourselves a break.
How do the logistics work?
That’s a special challenge: the only way to the
construction works below ground is through a
60 metre deep access shaft.
Info + +
Traditional miners’ saying
That which hides within the depth must
be brought up to the light. The miners’
duty in its breadth: to work below all
through the night.
GLÜCK AUF!
(German miners’ greeting)
41
International + Special Divisions
inform 25
DYWIDAG LNG Technology
Thailand
Vietnam
BUILDING
IN THE SULTANATE
Cambodia
Philippines
Brunei
Malaysia
Twenty years later, STRABAG is building another LNG
Singapore
storage tank in the sultanate of Brunei. Many factors
Malaysia
Indonesia
influence the dimensions of an LNG tank, but the size
of a country is not one of them – as one might expect
given Brunei’s relatively small size.
Brunei. The sultanate of Brunei may be small – the country is
only half the size of the Austrian state of Tyrol – but it has enormous
wealth. The Sultan of Brunei is one of the richest men on earth. But
the people of Brunei also benefit from the country’s wealth, which is
based on the revenue from oil and natural gas deposits. In Brunei,
which is located on the island of Borneo and shares a border with
Malaysia, high-quality education and healthcare are free.
The country’s oil and gas production and processing facilities
are located near the towns of Seria and Kuala Belait. This is also
where the expatriates working in the oil and gas industry live. Most
of them come from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Australia. Austrians and Germans currently account for about 20 people.
COMEBACK IN BRUNEI
Twenty years ago, the MC-FF division – at the time still Dyckerhoff & Widmann AG – designed and built the first two “big” LNG
tanks in Brunei. LNG tanks are a specialised type of tank for the
storage of liquefied natural gas at a temperature of -162 °C. In the
early 1990s, the two tanks were the first of their kind and represented a revolutionary development in the storage of natural gas. In
2012, the FF division was commissioned to come up with a performance-ready design for an outer tank and to build (including foundation) a full containment type LNG tank with prestressed concrete
outer wall for a storage capacity of 120,000 m³. That would make
Brunei
Brunei
Brunei is located next to the
South China Sea on the island of
Borneo and borders on Malaysia.
Malaysia
the new tank nearly twice as big as the tanks built 20 years ago, but
only medium-sized when compared to projects under construction
in Australia and South Korea that have capacities of 150,000200,000 m³. The new tank, being built as part of the expansion of a
1970s gas liquefaction plant, has an outer diameter of 75.9 m and a
dome height of 46.15 m.
PREPARED FOR ALL EVENTUALITIES
In addition to the operational design, the comprehensive FEM
calculation of the concrete outer tank also takes into account a
number of possible events, as defined by the applicable standards,
which the tank must be designed to withstand. These include earthquakes, impact from flying objects, and proof of structural stability
for /against liquid and gaseous substances, shock waves and different fire scenarios.
In contrast to the first two
tanks, which were built over a
period of six months on a shallow
foundation following preloading
of the tank surface in an earth
fill, the new tank required a
“faster” soil treatment.
The client’s original tender
had called for a deep foundation
with driven piles. In cooperation
Completion of the last vibro replacement columns on 1 February 2013.
42
The LNG storage tank built in 1994
www.strabag.com
inform 25
International + Special Divisions
Contract value:
approx. US$ 29.5 million (approx. € 22.9 million)
Core construction time: 10.2012 – 3.2014
Outer tank diameter: 75.9 m
Dome height: 46.15 m
with ZT-TBT (geotechnical engineering) in Munich, a separate proposal
was made for soil treatment using 1,328 vibro replacement columns
with a diameter of 600 and 1,200 mm. This solution delivered significant time and cost savings versus driven piles – which managed
to convince the client, too.
About 4,200 t of rebar, 800 t of cryogenic (low temperature
resistant) reinforcing steel and 5,000 t of cement will be needed for
the approximately 14,000 m³ of concrete of the outer tank. In the
search for a prestressing system, the choice fell on the proven DSI
(DYWIDAG Systems International) tensioning technique. The concrete wall is 120 cm thick at the base slab and tapers to 60 cm in
the first three 4.24 m high ring walls up to the transition with the ring
beam at the roof. The steel roof weighs approx. 1,700 t and, following completion of the prestressed concrete wall, will be positioned
and secured in place by means of air pressure.
The new tank is expected to begin operations in May 2015. The
main part of STRABAG’s work will be concluded in March 2014.
“The growth of the gas market in the last few years gives us
reason to hope for the continued good development and potential of
this niche business at both import and export terminals. New
markets are emerging for small and medium-sized tanks as economical alternatives for the supply of coastal and high-seas shipping or power plants (e.g. for steelworks),” says commercial director
Günter Kempe.
Brunei at a glance
The Sultanate of Brunei has been an independent nation since 1984, but remains a member of
the Commonwealth of Nations. About half of the
country’s inhabitants live in the urban area of the
capital, Bandar Seri Begawan.
For over 45 years, the country has been ruled by
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. The average annual
temperature is 27°C. Brunei has a tropical rainforest climate with high humidity throughout the
year. There is no dry season, although the rainfall, which can reach around 2,500 mm a year
along the coast and up to 7,500 mm in the interior,
comes mainly during the time of the north-easterly monsoons from November through March.
Of the approximately 410,000 inhabitants, some
66 % are Malay and 15 % Chinese. A minority of
around 7 % belong to the indigenous populations (mainly the Iban ethnic group). The remaining population consists of “guest workers” from
all over the world. Brunei is geographically separated into two parts and travellers must pass
through the Malaysian state of Sarawak to get
from one to the other.
CONTACT: Günter Kempe /Norbert Jung, International +
Special Divisions, Group Division International, Sub-Division
Projects (MC)
43
Specials
inform 25
Bu
rin
rg
g
THE FAVOURITE PLACES OF STRABAG EMPLOYEES
Ba
b
en
be
rg
e
rs
tra
ße
VIENNA: MY CITY
Vienna is the capital of Austria and one of the country’s
nine federal states. With a population of over 1.7 million,
Vienna is Austria’s most populous city. Some 2.4 million
z
international Mercer study ranked Vienna first in its
t
la
sp
m
of the total population. No wonder! After all, the 2012
eu
us
M
people live in the metropolitan area, about one quarter
Quality of Living survey for the fourth year in a row. Vienna
definitely owes much of its fame to St. Stephen’s
Cathedral – where Mozart married in 1782 – and the Giant
Ferris Wheel in the Prater park. But famous personalities
such as Oscar winner Christoph Waltz also contribute
their share to Vienna’s international reputation. Our
STRABAG colleagues have told us about their favourite
places in Vienna. So join us on a virtual walk through
town.
A hit for kids!
The ZOOM Children’s Museum is a museum in the MuseumsQuartier in Vienna’s seventh district. In addition to bars,
shops and event areas, the complex is also home to the
Children’s Museum. ZOOM sees itself as a place of interaction between children and artists with the aim of getting
kids to explore their
world. The various “experience rooms” are graded
according to age – fun
for big and small! When
her daughter Lisa-Sophie
dives into the ZOOM Ocean, Barbara Amon can take the
afternoon off.
“The Vienna Ferris Wheel in the Prater park is a Viennese landmark. At the time of its construction in 1897, it was the tallest
Ferris wheel in the world, measuring nearly 65 metres tall. It may
sound ridiculous today, but that’s still too high for me – I’d rather
stay on the ground.”
Barbara Amon
ke
Tickets for the public transport can be
bought at underground stations or at a
tobacconist’s. The tickets must be validated before boarding – otherwise it could
get expensive!
44
W
n
Li
ile
ze
Special tip + +
Don’t get caught dodging the fare!
ile
ze
ien
te
h
ec
ien
W
R
“Besides coffee and apple strudel, typical Viennese coffeehouse
culture also includes the famous waiter in a dark suit and bowtie. Since
2011, Vienna’s coffeehouse culture has been listed as “Intangible
Cultural Heritage” by UNESCO.”
Alfred Wimmer
inform 25
Specials
Kärn
tner
straß
e
www.strabag.com
Sacher’s legacy
Wa
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chg
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e
Kärn
tner
stra
ße
g
As a way to unwind after a hard day’s
work, Daniel Andre and his wife like to go
to the Old Town for dinner and a walk. One
of his favourite restaurants is the modern
Vapiano in Walfischgasse, which serves
fast-casual Italian fare. The name Vapiano
is a combination of the Italian “va” (“go”)
and “piano” (“slow”). This also explains the
restaurant’s slogan, “Chi va piano, va sano
e va lontano”, which more or less means:
“Slow and steady wins the race.”
Bös
Kar
end
lspl
atz
orfe
rstra
ass
e
ße
vag
Can
o
kt
ar
Wie
m
de
i
re
et
G
dne
kt
Ope
traß
mar
Va bene!
upts
reid
e
e
r Ha
Get
Opern
gas
se
Lots of cakes call themselves “Sacher Torte”,
but the unmistakable
original can only be
found at Hotel Sacher.
In terms of taste, Vienna’s most famous chocolate cake, filled with a
thin layer of apricot jam,
is unique. If you ignore
the price and treat
yourself to a piece, it
becomes clear that this cake is worth it.
Alfred Wimmer discovered this traditional
Viennese delicacy three years ago and he
often returns for more. In Restaurant Sacher,
you can also enjoy exclusive and local
cuisine. Definitely worth a visit!
ass
Multiculturalism
The Naschmarkt openair market between the
fourth and sixth districts
is actually no insider’s
tip, but an institution in
itself. About 1.5 km long,
it is the largest urban
market in Vienna. The
Naschmarkt offers a
mix of fruits, vegetables, spices, teas and
specialities from all over the world. “Time
and again, the tastes and sights are always
a highlight,” is how Tanja Stiedry describes
it. The market also has room for a number
of restaurants, such as Neni or Umar, one
of the best fish restaurants in town.
A treat for the ears
The Musikverein in the heart of the city,
inaugurated in 1870, is one of the world’s
most famous concert halls – not least
because the Golden Hall serves as venue
for the annual New Year’s Concert of the
Vienna Philharmonic. Thomas Birtel has
enjoyed many a concert here – even if the
New Year’s Concert wasn’t one of them.
On a number of occasions, he has also
attended the annual Ball of Industry and
Technology (“Techniker Cercle Ball”). The
Golden Hall, he says, is “probably the most beautiful concert
hall in the world”.
45
Specials
inform 25
DRAGON BOAT RACES
HIGHLIGHTS
ON YOUR MARKS,
GET SET, ROW!
STRABAG EVENTS
SCHEDULE 2013
19 August 2012 was a day unlike any other. A warm sum-
JANUARY
mer’s day, a refreshing lake and competitive spirit in the
25 – 27 January Züblin Wintertour
25 January
Dubai Marathon
air. And our STRABAG colleagues rowed their way to victory.
The real winners, however, were the Rotary projects in
Tyrol which benefited from the proceeds of the event.
MARCH
9 March 41st STRABAG Ski Day in Zell am See
22 – 24 March Poland Indoor Soccer Tournament
May
17 – 19 May STRAbike 2013: 4th international motorcycle
rally for STRABAG Group bikers
in Neuenhagen near Berlin
June
7 June STRABAG AR Sub-Division football tournament
in Unterolberndorf, Lower Austria
13 June
14 June
STRABAG Artaward awards ceremony in Vienna
STRABAG Fun Triathlon
on Vienna’s Donauinsel
August
30 August The winning STRABAG team from the Austrian sub-divisions AX /DD
and AF /BB.
Austria. Employees from the sub-divisions AX/DD (subsidiary
Storf Hoch- und Tiefbau GmbH) and A F /BB (STRABAG Tiefbau
Verkehrswegebau) formed a joint Team STRABAG to compete in a
rather unusual race organised by the Rotary Club Reutte-Füssen.
In dragon boats – row boats with individually designed dragon
heads at the bow – the teams had to row across Lake Heiterwang in
Tyrol as fast as they could. The special challenge: try to keep your
balance in a boat that is 12.5 m long but less than 1 m wide. One
false move can have dire consequences for the entire team – and
that can happen faster than you think.
Eleven teams in four groups were competing for first place, but
none could keep up with the team from STRABAG: with a commanding performance, our team emerged victorious. The event was
lots of fun for a good cause.
CONTACT: Monika Larcher, South + East, Group Division B+C
Austria West, Tyrol/Vorarlberg (Sub-Division AX)
46
13th STRABAG Beach Volleyball Open in Linz
Info + +
A little something about us
After 21 months, or four issues of
inform, Barbara Amon is back
and has reassumed editorial
responsibilities from Bettina
Mattes. In the meantime, the
inform family has grown, too.
We would like to take this
opportunity to introduce
you to Carmen Ferner.
We wish you lots of reading
enjoyment!
Barbara Amon (l) and
Carmen Ferner (r) look
forward to your contributions.
www.strabag.com
inform 25
Specials
SURVEY
YOUR OPINION MATTERS
With every new issue of inform, we try to make the articles
more interesting, more informative, more entertaining and
more vivid. And thanks in part to your suggestions, a lot
has changed over the last few years. Now we would like to
know if we are on the right path. For this reason, we are
asking you for your opinion.
Taking part pays off! All entrants will again participate in a raffle for
fantastic STRABAG promotional items. Last date for entries:
31 July 2013
Numbers from 1 to 4
1 = strongly agree; 2 = agree; 3 = disagree; 4 = strongly disagree
Please tick the appropriate box – multiple answers permitted.
The entrants’ personal information will be handled confidentially!
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www.strabag.com
LEGAL INFORMATION Editing and publishing: STRABAG SE, Villach Editors: Barbara Amon (editor-in-chief), Carmen Ferner
Organisation of national editions: Edita Novotna (Czech Republic/Slovakia), Evelyn Agocs (Hungary), Bozena Czekajska (Poland),
Elena Seleznjova (Russia) Layout and print management: Gundula Schmid Prepress: finishingmove Printing: MACK GmbH,
Schönaich Photography: Vectorstock (cover photo, pp. 14–21), Fotolia (pp. 7, 9, 12, 30, 31, 47), Wikipedia (p. 43), FH des bfi Wien
(p. 20), illustrations (pp. 9, 12, 15–21, 22–27, 31, 37, 42, 44–45) Inquiries and mail: STRABAG SE, Corporate Communications,
Tel. +43 1 22422-1145, Fax +43 1 22422-1177, inform@strabag.com, Donau-City-Str. 9, 1220 Vienna, Austria
Equal opportunities for women and men are a top priority at STRABAG. For this reason, we want to point out that terms such as
“employees”, “clients” or “experts” used in this magazine always refer to both genders.